X-Man character comes out as gay

A newer member of the X-Men family recently came out of the closet in one of the latest issues of the comic book series.

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By Herb Scribner

The Bulletin

By Herb Scribner

Posted Nov. 22, 2013 at 6:15 PM

By Herb Scribner

Posted Nov. 22, 2013 at 6:15 PM

A newer member of the X-Men family recently came out of the closet in one of the latest issues of the comic book series.
Benjamin Deeds, also known as Morph, recently revealed his homosexuality in "Uncanny X-Men: #14," according to The Huffington Post.
"Continuing with Marvel's rich tradition of character development and storytelling, this shape-shifting mutant can alter his appearance to mimic anyone he is in close proximity with," said Joe Taraborrelli, spokesman for Marvel Entertainment to The Huffington Post. "The fact that Ben has come out as homosexual is just a small facet of who he is and what he is going to bring to Cyclops' select team of X-Men."
Morph's reveal comes on the heels of Marvel also unveiling a Muslim Ms. Marvel, who will hit comic shelves in Feb. 14, according to a Deseret News article.
But Deeds isn't the first comic book character to "come out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender," according to The Huffington Post.
"Gay characters are becoming more commonplace in superhero comic books," reported Entertainment Weekly. Northstar, an X-Man character who was Marvel's first openly gay superhero, was married off last year, Entertainment Weekly reported.
X-Men characters coming out of the closet isn't sitting well with all readers, though. A blogger at The Four Color Media Monitor expressed concern that X-Men stories are being made into a platform for LGBT issues.
"If this is what the X-Men is going to amount to, nothing more than a platform for LGBT and other left-wing agendas, then I don't see how they expect it to have wide appeal anymore," he wrote.
But it's not just X-Men and Marvel characters coming out of the closet. The original Green Lantern revealed his homosexuality last year, according to Gawker. Also in 2012, IGN released an article viewing the history of gay comic book characters, some of whom have been killed in combat.
And Comics Blend recently published an editorial wondering if all new Marvel stories are going to feature gay character. Ultimately, the article said, buyers have the power.
"It is the comics business," Comics Blend wrote. "Publishers are willing to invest in GLBT characters and storylines if readers invest in the books. You have the ultimate power."%3Cimg%20src%3D%22http%3A//beacon.deseretconnect.com/beacon.gif%3Fcid%3D126492%26pid%3D46%22%20/%3E